Chandigarh, November 30, 2025 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed two criminal cases filed in 2020 and 2021 against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, ministers Harpal Singh Cheema and Aman Arora, and several other Aam Aadmi Party leaders for allegedly leading “unlawful” protests in Chandigarh. Senior Advocate Anmol Rattan Sidhu appeared for Mann in the matter.
The first case, registered on January 10, 2020, related to a protest march against a power tariff hike near the then Chief Minister’s residence. The second FIR, dated October 6, 2021, involved a march towards the Governor’s House. In both incidents, protesters were stopped by police, some personnel reported minor injuries, and charge sheets were subsequently filed.
While reviewing the records, the High Court found no prohibitory order under Section 144 CrPC to justify blocking the protests. It observed that no individual was named for stone-pelting and no allegation suggested that Mann or other leaders provoked any form of violence. The court noted that no words, gestures or acts of instigation were attributed to the petitioners.
According to the order, the crowd appeared to turn disorderly only after being sprayed with water, which the Duty Magistrate himself identified as the immediate trigger. The injuries to police officials — largely abrasions, swelling and minor pain — were consistent with routine jostling in a crowd attempting to push past barricades, and did not indicate assault by the petitioners.
The bench concluded that the essential elements of offences under Sections 147, 148, 149, 332 and 353 of the IPC were not satisfied. With no act of violence or criminal force linked to the accused leaders, and no unlawful assembly in the absence of Section 144 orders, the continuation of proceedings was deemed unwarranted.
The court has therefore quashed FIR No. 01 (2020), FIR No. 76 (2021), the chargesheets, and all consequential proceedings against the petitioners.
